JP2011040071A - System for targeting specific user to discussion thread - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and system for targeting individuals and providing a reference to a discussion in a discussion forum. <P>SOLUTION: A method is provided which allows a user of an integrated discussion forum interface to initiate the generation of a direct, navigable reference to a thread or message in a discussion forum to one or more targeted individuals. By generating a direct, navigable reference to the thread or message, the system may advantageously facilitate the directed solicitation of targeted individuals whilst leveraging the accessibility, reusability, and available knowledge base of a traditional public forum. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present application relates generally to a system that directs a discussion thread to a specific user.

  The development and proliferation of information networks and technologies has revolutionized the traditional method of asynchronous information communication between individuals. Asynchronous communication is described as the exchange of timed messages or data between two or more parties. Asynchronous communications are typically performed by issuing (eg, distributing) and subsequently browsing some chunk containing a message between two or more communication participants.

  Asynchronous communication generally involves exchanging information on some tangible medium or through an object, so the medium or object may have a permanent quality. Thus, such objects can be stored or stored, and messages or data making up asynchronous communications can be retained, archived, and referenced more than once after they are received. In contrast, traditional synchronous communication methods involve real-time voice or information exchange (eg, conversation), and due to the typical self-limiting design constraints of traditional synchronous communication interfaces, references back to the past are Generally not possible and / or not readily available.

  Conventional methods of asynchronous communication still used today include postal delivery (or “posting”) and bulletin boards. A bulletin board is a shared resource where one or more messages may be posted and posted. Typically, such messages are used to promote goods or services and provide announcements. Traditionally, bulletin boards are often made from materials such as cork to facilitate the addition, removal and exchange of messages.

  Popular digital communications technologies such as e-mail (e-mail) and digital message boards (also known as “discussion forums”) have been developed to support asynchronous communications. Compared to its traditional physical equivalent, it offers a number of advantages such as near-instant delivery and global accessibility. Both forms of digital asynchronous communication technology expand the ability to support distant remote communications as well as communications that share the same location. Unfortunately, the two main types of asynchronous communications, e-mail and discussion forums, offer different advantages, but at the same time have different important drawbacks.

  For example, for discussion forums, individuals publish or “post” (typically) untargeted messages to topic-specific discussion forums (for example, posting questions) You can wait for the user to browse the questions and post useful answers. Alternatively, a typical discussion forum can review and reuse previous questions and answers by allowing users to perform related keyword or term searches related to personal questions in past forum entries. It also provides the ability to

  Theoretically, public discussion forums are based on an underlying model of a large global network, and the principle is that if there are enough viewers of the forum message, some of them will post answers. Relying on. Unfortunately, relying on content created by the user in this way can produce unpredictable results. For example, with respect to obtaining relevant information, the effectiveness of discussion forums varies greatly from discussion forum to discussion forum and may not be consistent. The quality and timeliness of answers can vary widely depending on the popularity and demographics of the forum and the interest of key viewers on a particular subject or message topic.

  In addition, typical public discussion forums have limited or non-existent management and filtering of inappropriate answers. As a result, unsuitable and / or malicious individuals can also post answers, which can expose the original message author to unnecessary ridicule, confused, and dangerous advice, There is little or no reward. In many cases, users of discussion forums are unfamiliar or personally unaware of the majority of what constitutes a discussion forum, and as a result, use a significant amount of resources or effort to help. Sometimes you do n’t want to.

  In addition, in situations where the qualifications of respondents are not known, forum participants may not be sure of the accuracy of the information they receive. Furthermore, the unfocused nature and anonymity of discussion forums facilitates little or no participation in the discussion by the viewing parties or the assistance of the posting user. As a result, urgent messages that require immediate attention may not be addressed in a timely manner. Of course, all of these situations can adversely affect the user experience, either alone or in combination.

  Another widely used means of digital asynchronous communication between individuals is the use of email, where an interface can allow questions or messages to be delivered to identified individuals or organizations. is there. Members of the same individual or organization can view and respond to messages using a compatible interface. Because message recipients are specifically targeted, individual identification must be provided in detail within the context of an e-mail system. Of course, a particular identification usually corresponds to a higher level of intimacy, and thus the disadvantages associated with anonymous users' untargeted public discussion forums can be reduced to some extent.

  The advantage of email is that a clearly targeted message increases the chances of getting a reply in a timely manner. For answers to questions, the recipient of the email message may also respond by answering, or forwarding the message (or providing a reference) to someone else who knows the answer it can. Unfortunately, exactly this e-mail requirement to identify the recipient in detail naturally limits the viewer. As a result, the pool of available knowledge is proportionally very small.

  Furthermore, email is not inherently publicly accessible and therefore does not provide the ability to reuse. As a result, questions that have been answered by others in the past may not be referenced and the efficiency of the ability is lost. In addition, each individual or list of individuals must be selected by the message sender. The originator of the message must take into account the qualification of the recipient (s) and estimate the vacancy and responsiveness of the recipient (s), generally on an individual basis. In addition, this element inherently imposes a de facto upper limit on the aggregate pool of expertise, which is limited only to individuals known to the message originator. Clearly, the pool of expertise varies greatly from one message originator to the next, so the effectiveness of email as a resource can vary significantly between users. Furthermore, the increase in the number of recipients correlates with the increase in time required to address and include each recipient, resulting in a decrease in process efficiency.

  Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a method and integrated system for providing a reference to a discussion in a discussion forum for individuals. As used herein, within a single integrated system, discussion forum users can directly navigate one or more targeted individuals to a navigable reference to a thread or message within the discussion forum. A method is described that allows generation to begin. By generating direct navigable references to threads or messages, the system facilitates solicitations directed at targeted individuals while operating within the traditional framework of public forums Can be advantageous.

  One new system is a discussion forum interface that can receive user input and generate subject sub-interfaces. User-supplied data is received by the subject sub-interface and a notification including a direct reference is generated and electronically distributed to the identified subject. Another new system provides discussion forum functionality for individuals within an infrastructure that is relatively capable and flexible for social networking applications. The system includes identifying individual sub-networks, persistent user accounting that other users can see to motivate users to speak, identifying qualified references, and facilitating automatic notifications. Combines advanced features of social networking applications.

  Each of the new systems and methods described above is characterized by the ability to offer solicitations directed at targeted individuals, while providing public forum accessibility, reusability, and a wider knowledge base. Hold. In short, user interactions and questions can be accessed and addressed more consistently and conveniently by both targeted close individuals and helpful public speakers.

4 is a representation of an exemplary discussion thread in a discussion forum, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an exemplary graphical user interface of a user profile in a social networking system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an exemplary graphical user interface of a user profile viewed by another user of a social networking system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a representation of an exemplary graphical discussion thread interface for a discussion forum, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a representation of an exemplary graphical reply window in a discussion forum discussion thread, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a representation of an exemplary thread creation interface, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

  Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments. While the subject matter will be described in conjunction with alternative embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the claimed subject matter to that embodiment. On the contrary, the claimed subject matter is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents that are deemed to fall within the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter as defined by the appended claims. .

  Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details or with equivalents thereof. In other instances, well-known processes, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects and features of the subject matter.

  Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processes, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits that can be performed on computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. Here and in general, procedures, computer-executed steps, logic blocks, processes, etc., are considered to be a consistent step or sequence of instructions leading to a desired result. Steps are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, this quantity takes the form of an electrical or magnetic signal capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common specifications, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

  It should be noted that all of these and similar terms relate to appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to such quantities. As will be apparent from the following description, unless otherwise specified, it will be understood that throughout, for example, “access”, “write”, “include”, “store”, “transmit”, “move” A description utilizing terms such as “to”, “associate”, “specify”, etc. refers to computer system registers and data expressed as physical (electronic) quantities in memory, computer system memory or registers, or Refers to the actions and processes of a computer system or similar electronic computing device that manipulates and transforms into other data that is also represented as physical quantities in other such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Inquiry Targeted Discussion Forum In accordance with an embodiment of the claimed subject matter, a system is provided that includes one or more discussion forums displayed in one or more interfaces. Accordingly, the user of this system may choose to view and / or speak one of the discussion forums. In an exemplary embodiment, the discussion forum interface may indicate one or more discussion topics. In a further embodiment, each discussion topic is placed in a “thread” of user-created messages that are linked and related to a particular discussion topic. In some embodiments, individual threads may be shown in a graphical user interface (eg, a discussion thread interface) that is accessible from a separate discussion forum interface. In one embodiment, the discussion forum may include a portal web page for the website, and each thread is shown on a separate web page for the website, via a corresponding hypertext link. Accessible from the page.

  FIG. 1 depicts a graphical representation of an exemplary discussion thread 100 in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. In a typical configuration, discussion thread 100 is a thread topic (typically as the title of an interface, eg, title panel 103), and the links and associated users that make up the discussion thread. All or part of the message that is created (eg, recent posting panels 105, 107, 109, 111, and 113) and a sub-interface or specific user input terminal that can receive new user input to add to the thread ( It is preferable to include an interface 101 for displaying (not shown). In some embodiments, the sub-interface that receives new user input to add to the thread is not immediately displayed, but is generated by the system by actuating a clearly identified portion of the user interface 100. It is good (for example, "Reply" button 115).

  In a further embodiment, messages created by a user that make up a thread may be presented to represent message relationships. For example, messages that are direct responses to messages other than the original message may be clearly distinguished from messages that respond to the original message. In one embodiment, messages are clearly distinguished using indentation (eg, messages 109 and 111 are responses to message 107 and message 113 is a response to message 111). Accordingly, the discussion thread interface 101 may suggest a cascaded arrangement of messages created by the user to imply relationships between messages. In a further embodiment, the list in the thread of messages created by the user is rearranged in the display to present an chronological list of messages, and the messages are displayed in ascending order (or descending order to change) according to the chronological order. Also good.

  In yet another embodiment, the discussion thread interface 101 may also include a scroll bar 117 that vertically navigates information within a single page that is larger than the formatted viewing space. In yet another embodiment, discussion thread 100 may have content distributed across multiple web pages that are collectively navigated by means provided by thread interface 100. Good. In some embodiments, the means may include, for example, an arrow or button on the interface 100, which, when activated by the user, allows the user to navigate the web page by actuating the arrow or button. Good.

  In some embodiments, a user of the discussion thread interface 101 may search for specific content within a specific thread and / or search the discussion forum interface for a specific thread itself. Searching for specific content within a specific thread may be performed by a specified search mechanism. As presented, the designated search mechanism may include a graphical search input field 121 and a search start button 123. The user can search for specific content by submitting a keyword corresponding to the desired content to the graphical search input field 121 and activating a search start button. In one embodiment, content corresponding to the retrieved keyword is presented to the user. The content may be presented, for example, by visually distinguishing the keywords (eg, by colored highlighting) when the keywords are detected. In other embodiments, the content may be presented as a list of messages containing the searched keywords in some order (eg, oldest order). The list of messages may be displayed within the thread interface 101 itself, or may be displayed within a dynamically generated window or interface.

  Searching for a specific thread or thread with a specific keyword may be performed by a similar search mechanism (eg, also by the graphical search input field 121 and the search start button 123). In some embodiments, a search mechanism for searching for threads may be presented within the discussion forum interface. In one embodiment, searching for keywords in multiple threads may return a list of threads whose topic titles correspond to the keywords. In a further embodiment, the list of threads may also include threads whose content corresponds to keywords, even though titles do not necessarily correspond. Threads that match the searched keyword may be presented as a list of thread links that can be navigated, and activation of the thread link causes the viewer to be moved to the thread interface 101 of a particular thread. In yet another embodiment, the thread corresponding to the retrieved keyword may also include, for example, a speaking expert, posted links, and a list of submitted files for each thread in the list of threads. Good (described in more detail below). In some embodiments, the thread (and its configuration information) may be stored as an archive, thus allowing a retrospective reference to related questions later.

  However, in a traditional discussion thread, requesting an answer directly to a specific viewer or speaker includes the identification of the intended viewer and / or speaker in the thread title or It is not possible except to write a message containing the individual's identity in the thread. Unfortunately, unless the subject's individual is actively monitoring the thread interface, the individual will not be aware of a clearly directed conversation. Alternatively, the user may use a dedicated email application to send a web address and / or hyperlink that directly references the thread's web page to the targeted individual. However, this requires adding an irrelevant application and may cause the target user to reference only a web page, not a specific message. In implementations where a single web page can contain a large number of messages, reading through each message and determining the particular message in question can be a time consuming and inefficient process.

  Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is directed to methods and systems that allow a targeted individual to reference a discussion forum. In one embodiment, the discussion thread interface 100 is provided with the ability to generate a unique sub-interface that can receive user input that specifically identifies one or more target individuals for the discussion forum. In one embodiment, the ability to generate a sub-interface includes a button (eg, button 119) on the thread interface 100 that, when activated, clearly forms user input as an individual address in the system. Create a user input terminal that receives In some embodiments, the individual addresses may include email addresses. In other embodiments, the individual addresses may include user accounts that have been identified within the enterprise system.

  In one embodiment, hyperlinks to the discussion thread interface 100 website are provided at individual addresses. In a further embodiment, the link moves the recipient to a specific message in the thread. Thus, by providing the ability to lead a discussion forum for a particular individual in a single integrated application, users of the system can request speech from a particular individual while at the same time A large network can benefit from a potentially unlimited knowledge base.

Social Network Application In a typical social network application implemented as an online application, social network members can create user accounts, and user accounts can interact with other users in the social network. Represents the user in the dialog. In conventional social network applications, each user account has a separate display that can be viewed through the social network application by some or all of the other users in the social network. In some embodiments, the display corresponding to the user account includes one or more linked web pages. In further embodiments, the web page corresponding to the user account may include user-supplied content and / or user-configurable content that presents information about the member to the viewer, such as interest, contact information, background, etc.

  In a typical social network application, each user can define one or more sub-networks of other specifically identified users that make up the user's private network. In a further implementation, fusion in the user's private network requires other users to admit. According to some embodiments, the functionality of a discussion forum that allows targeted individuals to reference specific information in the discussion thread is integrated into the social networking application. Reference is now made to FIG. An exemplary graphical user interface of a user profile 200 in a social networking system is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

  In a typical configuration, the user profile 200 may be implemented as an interface that includes a profile panel 201 that corresponds to a user account in a social network application. In one embodiment, the user account is associated with a particular member of the social network. In some embodiments, the account may be created and / or managed only by the member of the social network. In other embodiments, the account may be created and managed by an administrator. In one embodiment, user profile 200 is a display generated by the system to represent a user account. Typical features presented in the profile panel 201 include, for example, a member's photo 207 corresponding to the account (which can be set by the user in some embodiments), such as the status panel 205, as well as input from the member A greeting or status message that can be set via the.

  In a further embodiment, the user profile 200 may include a panel that displays the member's requests from other members of the social network. The panel may be displayed together with a title (for example, request panel header 203a) and a display area (for example, request display area 203b). In one embodiment, specific requests may be displayed in the order in which the requests were made to the user (eg, oldest first). Alternatively, the requests may be displayed in some predetermined arrangement depending on the type of request. In one embodiment, user profile 200 also includes a main display panel 209.

  Accordingly, the main display panel 209 may include and display information related to the user account and may be distributed over one or more navigable tabs (eg, tabs 209a, 209b, 209c, 209d). For example, the information corresponding to intra-network communications from other user accounts, the personal information displayed by the user, the user's identified sub-network of other users, and the user's photo are shown separately. It may be selectively displayed on the main display panel 209. When the user activates a specified button (for example, navigable tabs 209a, 209b, 209c, and 209d), the user may be able to move and view desired information.

  As presented, tab 209a may be used for inter-network communications (eg, non-private messages) performed by a user via a user account and / or through interaction with other user accounts in a social network. ), Publicity, and other similar activities. In one embodiment, these activities are displayed as notifications (eg, notification 1 211a, notification 2 211b, notification 3 211c, and notification 4 211d). In one embodiment, notifications may be presented in reverse chronological order (eg, recent notifications are displayed first, followed by each new notification in turn).

  In a further embodiment, a scroll bar 213 is provided to navigate information displayed in the main display panel 209 when the content displayed in the main display panel 209 exceeds the border of the panel 209. As shown, the scroll bar 213 is implemented as a vertical scroll bar configured to navigate information including the content source vertically by changing the displayed content portion. Good. In an alternative embodiment, scroll bar 213 may be implemented as a horizontal scroll bar configured to navigate information along a horizontal axis. In yet another embodiment, both a vertical scroll bar and a horizontal scroll bar may be provided.

  Reference is now made to FIG. Shown is an exemplary graphical user interface of a user profile 300 viewed by other users in a social networking system, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a typical configuration, user profile 300 may be implemented as a graphical interface that includes a user profile corresponding to a user account in a social network application. In one embodiment, the user account is associated with a particular member of the social network and the user profile is a representation of the user that is displayed to other users. As shown, the user profile 300 includes a user introduction portion (eg, an introduction panel 301a) and a user content portion (eg, a content panel 301b).

  Typical features presented on the introductory panel 301a include, for example, an account name or title name (eg, account banner 303), a visual representation of the user (eg, icon 305), and content created by the user or A panel (e.g., greeting panel 307) may be included to display as status. In one embodiment, the visual representation of the user includes an image file provided by the user. In other embodiments, the visual representation may be an icon from a predetermined bank of icons provided by the system and selected (in advance or dynamically) by the user. According to some embodiments, the greeting panel 307 may display a short message from the user that other user accounts can view while viewing the user profile 300.

  According to some embodiments, the user profile 300 also includes a user content portion, such as a content panel 301b. In a typical configuration, the content panel 301b may be user configured to present additional information regarding the social network member represented by the user profile 300. The content panel 301b may also include, for example, a snapshot of the user's recent activity, or information about the member's background (eg, personal, professional, academic, or contact information) and / or interest. As shown, content panel 301b includes a user activity panel 313 and a user information panel (eg, panels 309b and 311b).

  In one embodiment, the user activity panel 313 presents a display that lists recent activities performed through or by the user account. For example, a typical social networking application may also facilitate communication of non-private interactions (eg, messages) exchanged between user accounts. In one embodiment, the user account in the social network application and such interaction with other users may be displayed in the user activity panel 313. In further embodiments, the dialogs may be presented in order of newness. In yet another embodiment, other activities performed by the user in the social network, such as posted announcements and notifications, may be displayed in the user activity panel 313.

  As shown, content panel 301b further includes user information panels 309b and 311b. In one embodiment, the user information panels 309b, 311b may be user set to display information such as contact information, occupational information, and the like. The user information panels 309b, 311b may be further configured to display user interests, usage statistics, and / or affiliations. In one embodiment, a social networking application comprising one or more integrated discussion forums may monitor, track and / or categorize discussion thread topics and content. Accordingly, discussion topics may be classified according to subject matter and associated with one or more predetermined areas.

  These areas may consist of topics of interest, for example, disciplines, research areas, or other various levels of specificity. In a further embodiment, individual messages within a discussion thread may be automatically classified into the same field as the thread's topic. In some embodiments, message and / or thread classification may be performed internally and stored in the system.

  In yet another embodiment, the user account may belong to one or more of these areas in the system. This affiliation may be displayed, for example, to other users in the user's profile (eg, user profile 300). The affiliation may indicate the user's interests, abilities and / or expertise in the field. In one embodiment, affiliation may be obtained through user elections. In further embodiments, affiliation may be established by peer nomination and / or approval, or may be based on a user's remarks within a social network community. For example, according to some embodiments, discussion thread viewers may be allowed to provide feedback on the subjective quality of the thread (eg, directly through the interface). In further embodiments, the viewer may be allowed to provide feedback on the quality of individual messages.

  Accordingly, user utterances (eg, posted messages) to the discussion forum may be tracked and monitored by accumulating feedback received about the user's utterances from other community members. In embodiments that categorize discussion threads and / or posted messages according to disciplines, research areas, and / or topics of interest, user utterances may also be tagged and classified. This information may then be displayed along with the display of the corresponding affiliation of the user.

  The user information panels 309b and 311b in FIG. 3 show such an example. In a typical configuration, user information panels 309b and 311b include corresponding title panels (eg, banners 309a and 311a). The title panel (eg, banner 309a) may indicate the title or title of data represented in the corresponding user information panel (eg, user information panel 309b). As shown, the recognized and / or established affiliation of the user may be displayed in an information panel 309b entitled “Expertise”, according to feedback from other community members The user's remarks in the community may be represented on the information panel 311b entitled “Expertise Statistics”.

  The user's remarks may be represented according to various metrics and / or may be further detailed by a particular field or affiliation. Example metrics include, but are not limited to, the ratio of the user's negatively received speech to the positively received speech, the user's positive and / or negatively received speech for the entire speech , The total number of community utterances made by the user in the user's record, the total number of user utterances by area of expertise. According to other embodiments, the user information panels 309b, 311b may be further configured to display additional information.

  By displaying the user's speech statistics, the user identified as belonging to one or more fields may be given a motivation to speak more frequently. By further providing a means by which the user's remarks can be evaluated by experts in the field, involuntary and / or malicious responses will be prevented or reduced. Thus, these effects combine to provide an improved user experience in the discussion forum, which is advantageous.

Discussion thread interface According to an embodiment of the claimed subject matter, a distributed graphical social network application enables one or more discussion forums that include multiple discussion threads into one or more interfaces. It is good to incorporate. Thus, the user of the system may choose a discussion forum thread to view and / or speak. FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of an exemplary discussion thread interface 400 for a discussion forum in a social network, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The discussion thread interface 400 may include, for example, a graphical user interface in which the discussion thread 100 described above with reference to FIG. 1 is displayed to the user.

  In a typical configuration, discussion thread interface 400 includes, for example, an introduction panel (eg, introduction 401), a message display (eg, message display sub-interface 405), and an input terminal (eg, message input sub-interface 413), It is good to include a plurality of parts. In one embodiment, referral 401 may include a title banner (eg, banner 403) that displays the title or subject of the thread. According to a further embodiment, the originating user may submit a title to the thread during the creation process. In these and similar embodiments, the thread title may be displayed in the banner 403. Other content displayed in the referral 401 includes, for example, a status display (eg, whether the thread is active, inactive, or locked), a list of thread managers, identification related to the thread It may contain a list of topics or areas that have been published.

  The message display sub-interface 405 displays a set of messages (for example, messages 407b, 409b, and 411b) constituting the thread. Messages may be displayed in chronological order or may be displayed in chronological order. In other embodiments, the messages may be displayed in a cascading arrangement (see above with respect to FIG. 1) so that the relationships between the messages are displayed separately. In a typical configuration, the user may choose to change the display according to such an arrangement via a display setting mechanism such as a button on the interface.

  For popular threads, a single display may not be sufficient to display each message independently and clearly. Therefore, a mechanism that facilitates the display of thread messages in the display may be provided. As shown, the message display sub-interface 405 includes a scroll bar 425. In one embodiment, as described above with reference to the scroll bar 213 of FIG. 2, the scroll bar 425 allows the user to change the portion of the single continuous content that is currently being viewed. To be able to. In a further embodiment, a mechanism that facilitates the display of a thread's message in the display may be implemented as one or more thread navigation buttons. According to this implementation, the thread navigation buttons may be configured as a collection of multiple displays to receive user input consistent with an action that moves the thread's message, with each display receiving one or more messages. Including.

  In one embodiment, the message may further be presented with a visual representation of the author of the message (eg, icons 407a, 409a, and 411a) (eg, 407b, 409b, and 411b are the corresponding visual representations 407a, 409a, and 411a). Presented with). In one embodiment, the visual representation includes a picture of the user. The visual representation may present, for example, a reduced version of the visual representation displayed on the user's profile. In other embodiments, the visual display may include an image or icon preselected by the user from a predefined base of icons.

  According to some embodiments, the user of thread interface 401 may be able to reply to messages in the thread individually. In a further embodiment, each indication of a message in thread interface 400 is presented with a reply mechanism (eg, reply mechanisms 407d, 409d, and 411d). As shown, the reply mechanism may be implemented as a button configured to detect user actuation. When user activity is detected, a window or sub-interface may be generated for receiving and submitting user replies. In some embodiments, each message may be returned individually. The reply message may then be placed according to user specifications and displayed in the message display sub-interface 405. For example, the user may choose to display a message to display relevance, and related messages (eg, source messages and corresponding reply messages) may be grouped. Alternatively, the messages may be displayed in the order in which they are entered, and the reply message may have some other visual reference to the source message (eg, a link to a citation or source message).

  As shown, the message display sub-interface 405 includes means for the user to submit feedback on individual messages (eg, buttons 407c, 409c and 411c). In one embodiment, the means is implemented as a button on the interface configured to receive a user action representing user feedback. In some embodiments, the user feedback submitted may depend primarily on which part of the interface (eg, which button) is activated by the user. As presented, each pair of buttons 407c, 409c, and 411c includes an affirmative “+” and a negative “−” button. Thus, a viewer who receives (eg, views) the content of a message may indicate the subjective quality of a particular message by selecting (eg, activating) one of a pair of buttons. In some embodiments, the feedback may be limited to registered members of the community (eg, a user of a social network application). In yet another embodiment, the feedback may be limited to the original creator of the thread.

  The message input sub-interface 413 allows the user to write a new message to add to the thread. As shown, message input sub-interface 413 includes title 415a, content panel 415b, attachment mechanisms 417a, 417b, 417c, reference panels 419a, 419b, message submission mechanism 421, and unsubmitted message cancellation mechanism 423. including. In one embodiment, the title 415a may describe and / or identify the purpose of the sub-interface 413. The content panel 415b may be an input terminal configured to receive user input (eg, via a keyboard or other input device) as text including the text of the message.

  In further embodiments, the user may be able to attach electronic files and / or post links to web pages via one or more attachment mechanisms. As shown, the attachment mechanism may comprise a file subject field 417a, a link subject field 417c, and an attachment mechanism 417b. The file target field 417a allows the user to specify a target file to be attached to the message. Similarly, the link target field 417c allows a user to provide a direct link, for example, as a url (Uniform Resource Locator), or “web address”, of a web page available on the local intranet or on the Internet. When a link is provided, the link may be displayed prominently with the posted message. In other embodiments, the message text may be added to the link, but it is clearly represented (eg, underlined). As shown, the attachment mechanism 417b may be implemented as a button on the sub-interface 413. After identifying the file in the target field 417a and / or providing the url link, the user may initiate an attachment process (eg, upload) by actuation of the attachment mechanism 417b.

  Once the message has been written, the user may submit the message to the system via a message submission mechanism. As shown in FIG. 4, interface 400 allows a user to submit a message that includes any attachments and / or url links that the user may have specified in fields 417a and 417c, respectively. A button 421 is included. Alternatively, if the user chooses to discard the message in its current state, the user can utilize a mechanism (eg, button 423) to cancel a message that has not yet been submitted. As shown, button 423 is configured to receive an operation as a user input. If activation is detected, the message may be discarded. In a further embodiment, activation of button 423 may provide an additional confirmation window (not shown) to prevent the message from being accidentally discarded.

  In yet another embodiment, the thread interface 400 may include a reference panel that provides a list of identified references. The reference is, for example, a list of other members of the social network community that belong to one or more of the academic fields corresponding to the thread's topic and / or content displayed in the thread interface 400 It is good to include. The reference panel may include a title 419a that identifies the panel, and a reference display 419b that displays a list of identified references. In one embodiment, the reference display 419b may include an identified reference name or user account name.

  In further embodiments, the reference display 419b may include a graphical representation of one or more of the identified references, such as a user's photo. The graphical representation may further present, for example, a reduced version of the visual representation displayed on the reference user's profile. In other embodiments, the visual display may include an image or icon preselected by a reference user from a predefined base of icons. In yet another embodiment, the graphical representation may further include a hyperlink, which when activated by the user, interacts with a reference user account and / or for contact. Create an interface (eg, in a new window) or move the interface to a separate interface.

  In yet another embodiment, the references may be displayed in a predetermined order. For example, the display may prioritize members by statistical achievements for reference utterances in specific areas or academic fields. Alternatively, the display may limit and / or prioritize the reference to the viewing user's private sub-network. In some embodiments, the display of the reference may be dynamically changed depending on the content of the message in the message input sub-interface 413 or with the message displayed in the message display sub-interface 405. Thus, the user can view the proposed expert while drafting or reviewing the message, so that the user can specifically speak to one or more proposed experts ( For example, an answer) can be obtained.

  According to some embodiments, the user of the system may also be able to create additional threads within the discussion forum. The user may create additional threads, for example, via another thread creation interface (eg, thread creation interface 600 described below). According to such an embodiment, the thread creation interface may be generated by a user action on a corresponding mechanism (not shown) for thread creation. This mechanism may include a button on the interface 400 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the mechanism may include a button on the discussion forum interface described above with reference to FIG.

Reply window Reference is now made to FIG. A graphical representation of an exemplary reply interface 500 in a discussion thread is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. According to one embodiment, the reply interface 500 may be implemented as a reply window 501, such as a window generated by user action on reply buttons such as reply buttons 407d, 409d, and 411d. In some embodiments, the interface 500 may be provided on the same interface as the thread interface 401 and the functionality and features provided in the return interface 501 may be included in the thread interface 401. In another embodiment, interface 500 is presented in a separate interface. In a typical configuration, interface 500 includes a message reference 503, a content portion 509, and a speaker list (eg, participant list 527).

  In one embodiment, message reference 503 displays a reference to the message in the thread being returned. The message reference 503 includes, for example, a quote panel 507 that displays the text of the message to be referenced, the name of the author or user account 505b writing the reference message, and a visual representation of the author of the reference message ( For example, an icon 505a) may be included.

  The content portion 509 provides an interface for the responding user to interact with the referenced message. As shown, the content portion 509 includes a text field 511b that receives as input the text that the user submits, identified by the title 511a. Thus, the text field 511b allows input of the text content of the reply message. In a typical configuration, a user who answers a reference target message may attempt to introduce additional reference or descriptive information to a later viewer. This additional reference or descriptive information may include, for example, online resources or files stored locally (or remotely accessible). For example, a user who answers a reference message that is a question answers a question by posting a message via text field 511b, but also posts a web address or hyperlink to another online resource. Or a local computer file may be attached that can be an explanation or answer to the question.

  As shown, the interface 500 provides a link field (eg, link field 513b), a target file field (eg, file field 513c), and a title 513a that identifies the purpose of the field. Thus, the user may attach a local computer file via file field 513c and submit a web address via link field 513b. When a reply message is submitted, these additional references may be displayed instead of or in conjunction with the text of the message entered in the text field 511b.

  Once the message has been written (and a reference attached), the user may submit a reply message to the system via a message submission mechanism. The interface 500 includes a button 515 that allows the user to post (eg, submit) a message that includes any attachment and web address that the user may have specified in any input field. Alternatively, if the user chooses to discard the message in its current state, the user can utilize a mechanism (eg, button 517) to cancel a message that has not yet been submitted. As shown, button 517 is configured to receive an operation as a user input. If activation is detected, the message may be discarded. In a further embodiment, activation of button 517 may provide an additional confirmation window (not shown) to prevent the message from being accidentally discarded.

  In some embodiments, the content portion 509 further includes an expert request portion that is affiliated with a topic corresponding to one or more topics identified as an expert or associated with a reference message. Social network members should be listed as possible reference candidates. As shown, the expert request portion includes a title to identify (eg, title 519a) and a list of experts 519b that have been identified for reference.

  As shown, the identified expert list 519b is implemented to display a visual representation of the expert. In a further embodiment, the user writing the reply message may provide a private message for a selected number of identified experts by user action (eg, by checking a box in the graphical portion of list 519b). Good. According to this embodiment, a user action may create a sub-interface or a new window that allows the user to provide a private message. In a further embodiment, the message is not posted to the thread.

  In yet another embodiment, the user may be able to search and / or specify additional references via a mechanism that narrows the reference identification to one or more keywords or names. As shown, a button (eg, smart search button 521) is provided in the interface 501 that, when activated by the user, searches the community to find one or more suggestions corresponding to the searched term. A list of users to be submitted may be presented. The list of suggested users may be determined based on the expected relevance in answering the question or providing a solution to the problem. Validity may be expected, for example, from a user's remarks and / or expertise in a domain or related discipline, a user's responsiveness to other questions of interest, and the like. The list of users corresponding to the searched terms may be presented in a separate window or interface that is dynamically generated, for example, in response to user activation of the smart search button 521. The message author may select from the proposed users and include the selected person as a recipient of individual messages and / or notifications that notify the message recipient when the message is posted. .

  In one embodiment, the list of suggested users corresponding to the searched terms returned in this way may be limited to the user's private network. In an alternative embodiment, activation of the smart search button 521 provides a list of users that may include members outside the user's private network. According to such embodiments, members within the user's private network may be prioritized or otherwise differentiated from other users. In some embodiments, when a keyword related to affiliation is searched, the returned list of users corresponding to the searched term is an academic expert corresponding to the searched keyword or keywords. It is good to include the user specified as. In other embodiments, the experts may be limited to the searching user's private network and / or may be prioritized over other experts outside the searching user's private network.

  In some embodiments, the user can target an individual and provide a reference to a thread or message. In one embodiment, this capability is provided via a button on interface 501 (eg, add participant button 523) that, when activated by the user, allows the user to identify another member of the social network. Be available. In a further embodiment, activation of the add participant button 523 allows the user to clearly identify another member (eg, by giving the member's user account name, email address, etc.) additional input. Create a field or window.

  When another user is identified, a notification including a hyperlink to the web address of the thread interface 500 displayed in the window 501 may be delivered to the user. This notification may be delivered as an email to the user's account or other email address. Alternatively, the notification may also appear as a guide on the user's profile (eg, within the user's tab 209a and user activity panel 313 as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively). The notification may include in some embodiments an invitation to join the thread (eg, registration and / or speech) to the recipient. Users who accept the invitation can now speak to the discussion by posting messages, files and / or links to the thread display interface. Alternatively, a user who accidentally viewed a public thread can simply reply to the message and speak to the thread by submitting an answer (eg, text, file (s), and / or link (s)) Also good.

  If the thread is a private thread (as specified by the thread creator), a user invited by the thread creator or a later authorized (e.g. invited) speaker to speak to the thread Only can view, search, and speak to that thread. In a further embodiment, the invited speaker may in turn invite a new speaker. Thus, the local expert network for a particular thread should be continuously expanded both privately and publicly, resulting in an increased pool of knowledge aggregation, while targeted email exchange Focus, responsiveness, intimacy, and privacy are preserved.

  According to some embodiments, when a user speaks to a thread, the user may be automatically added to the discussion participant list. Once added, the user may be notified (eg, via email or by the user's profile) each time activity in the thread is registered (eg, a message is added). In one embodiment, the notification to the user may be displayed in the request display area 203b described above with reference to FIG. In some embodiments, the user may also be able to enter as a participant without posting a message.

  According to such an embodiment, the user can also choose to remove from the participant list to avoid receiving notifications. As shown, the interface 501 includes a mechanism (eg, a leave discussion button 525) that allows the user to delete the user's account from the participant list. The leave discussion button 525 is implemented as a button that, when activated, deregisters the user from the thread and thus prevents the user from being notified each time an activity in the thread is subsequently registered.

  As shown, interface 501 also includes a speaker list that displays a list of current members of the community participating in the discussion (eg, participant list 527). In one embodiment, the list of participating members includes members who have spoken in the thread (eg, posted a message) and / or members who receive notification of thread activity. The list of participating members may be displayed as a list of icons (eg, 529a, 529b, 529c, and 529d) that visually represent the user account of the participating member. In a further embodiment, a scroll bar 531 is provided to navigate a single display that includes a representation of some or all of the participating members. In some embodiments, the list of participating members may be displayed according to a particular order and may be ordered differently by each viewer. For example, the list of participating members may be ordered according to the number of activities (eg, speech) within a particular thread. Other orders include, but are not limited to, ordering the list according to activity across all threads (for example, the total number of utterances), and ordering the list according to expertise statistics or other expertise metrics, etc. Can be.

Thread creation interface Reference is now made to FIG. A graphical representation of an exemplary thread creation interface 600 is shown in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The thread creation interface allows a user to create a targeted or untargeted thread of a given topic in a discussion by submitting a thread start message. The thread is then created from (and includes) the thread start message, and the viewing user can speak to the thread (eg, reply to the thread start message and later messages that make up the thread). It should be possible.

  A thread initiation message may include one or more subjects and may include text, files, and / or links that make up the content of the message. For targeted threads, individual specific notifications may be sent to the identified target. Such subjects may include expert references such as those identified in social networking applications. According to embodiments, the thread creation interface 600 may be implemented as a thread creation window 601, such as a window created by user actuation of a button or mechanism that creates a new thread. In a typical configuration, window 601 includes a header portion 603, a content portion 605, and a recipient list 615.

  As shown, header 603 identifies window 601. Content portion 605 includes a subject (in conjunction with 607a, 607b), a message sub-component (in conjunction with 609a, 609b, 609c), and message submission and message cancellation buttons (615 and 617, respectively). Subject lines 607a, 607b allow the writing user to identify in detail the topic, background or field of the user's question or message. For example, the topic could be a field or academic field related to one or more of the experts displayed in the recipient list 615. In one embodiment, the subject line corresponds to a thread and / or a particular message topic. The subject includes a title that identifies the subject (eg, a “keyword” title 607a) and an actual term and / or phrase representing the topic in the topic field 607b. In other embodiments, the subject is accompanied by the title of the entire thread.

  The message sub-component of window 601 includes an identifier 609a, a text field 609b, and means 609c for navigating the text field. As shown, identifier 609a identifies the message sub-component. The text field 609b is implemented as an input terminal that receives user input as text composing a message or communication delivered to the identified recipient. A submit message button 615 allows the user to submit a currently configured message via a user action on the button 615. On the other hand, the cancel message button 617 allows the user to cancel the message and close the window via a user action on the button 617 without delivering the message to any recipient.

  According to a further embodiment, a user writing a thread creation message can be in a meeting with one or more professionals (eg, social for a single company) via a mechanism on interface 600 (eg, meeting toggle 611). (In a networking application) In yet another embodiment, the user submits a private message (eg, creates a thread) to a specifically invited member via a separate mechanism (eg, private toggle 613) on the interface 600. be able to. In one embodiment, submitting the message as a private message prevents the message from being posted publicly (eg, can be viewed) to the discussion forum interface, and as a result, a clearly invited member Only allow you to view, search and respond to messages and / or threads. In some embodiments, posting a thread or message privately involves searching for a corresponding topic in which the thread and / or the message comprising it are performed by members not targeted (see, eg, FIG. 1). Thus, it may be prevented from being discovered through the search mechanisms 121 and 123 described above. Conversely, for invited members, private threads are visible and available in the discussion forum interface. In a further embodiment, submitting a message as a private message sends a notification to the recipient's personal account as an electronic message and does not appear on a publicly viewable display (eg, on the recipient's profile).

  As presented, recipient list 615 presents a display of identified users specifically targeted for inviting to speak to the thread by the message author. In one embodiment, the recipient list may include other specifically identified persons (generally recognized) who are relevant to the topic or who have been selected by the message author to receive an expert request message. Automatically included in addition to or may not be a specialist). In a further embodiment, experts are automatically added to the recipient list only if the user does not specifically target other recipients, but chooses to leave the thread or message private. Good. Thus, the user is given the ability to submit questions unobtrusively to the identified expert without the user personally knowing such an expert.

  In some embodiments, the recipient list 615 includes visual representations such as caricatures or icons (eg, images 617a, 619a, 621a) and corresponding identifications such as names of members or user accounts (eg, 617b, 619b, 621b). ). In a further embodiment, the system can dynamically add or remove experts from the recipient list based on the content of the message, even before the actual message is posted. Thus, the recipient list can be changed even while the user is composing and / or suggesting a message. This feature gives the user the ability to dynamically identify resource candidates on an ad hoc basis for each message or thread.

  Thus, the combination of the discussion forum interface, integrated within the social networking infrastructure, and the functionality targeted at individuals, allows discussion thread viewers to identify specific statements that are widely accepted. You can refer to individuals. Thereafter, users in the community may be able to search for similar keywords or themes. When a later user presents a similar question, the user should be able to search and find a thread for reference. Alternatively, for non-identical but related questions, the user can easily identify an expert in the topic based on remarks and / or approvals from previous threads.

  Therefore, a reference that may be qualified is given the ability to query for assistance and is considered advantageous, while the accessibility, sustainability, and reusability of modern discussion forums. The advantage of the feature is retained. In particular, the advanced features of high-performance social networking applications enable you to identify the right reference, create the motivation to speak, and expand your wider personal network, all with an improved user experience. provide.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological operations, it will be appreciated that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or operations described above. Not. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims (15)

An electronic system that allows a target individual to refer to a discussion forum in a social network interface, the social network interface comprising:
Multiple user accounts corresponding to social network members;
A discussion forum that includes a discussion forum interface that displays multiple topics;
A plurality of discussion threads corresponding to the plurality of topics, the plurality of discussion threads including a plurality of discussion thread interfaces coupled to the discussion forum interface;
The discussion thread interface of the plurality of discussion thread interfaces is
A thread display for displaying a plurality of forum messages corresponding to the discussion thread, the plurality of forum messages including content created by a user;
A first graphical user interface that receives user input to create a forum message, wherein the forum message is added to the plurality of forum messages in the thread display. A user interface;
A second graphical user interface for targeting a plurality of identified members of the social network;
A notification is delivered to the plurality of user accounts corresponding to the plurality of identified members of the social network;
Further, the electronic system is hosted on a plurality of computing machines.   The system of claim 1, wherein the forum message includes a hyperlink to a web page.   The discussion forum interface further includes a third graphical user interface configured to receive user input corresponding to a new discussion topic, and further comprising the plurality of discussion forums included in the discussion forum. The system of claim 1, wherein a discussion thread is added to the thread to correspond to the new discussion topic.   The system of claim 1, wherein members of the social network are associated with a domain of expertise within the social network.   When a discussion thread corresponding to a first area of expertise is added to the plurality of discussion threads included in the discussion forum, a member associated with the first area of expertise is notified. The system of claim 4, wherein the system is automatically sent.   The system of claim 4, wherein a notification is automatically sent to a member associated with the first domain of expertise when a forum message corresponding to the first domain of expertise is added to the thread. . The system
A plurality of sub-networks corresponding to the plurality of user accounts;
The sub-network corresponds to a specific user account of the plurality of user accounts and includes the specific user account and a collection of other multi-user accounts in the social network. Item 4. The system according to Item 1.   The first user account of the plurality of user accounts may define the set of other user accounts included in the sub-network corresponding to the first user account. Item 8. The system according to Item 7.   9. The notification is automatically delivered to a specified plurality of user accounts in the first sub-network, wherein the specified plurality of user accounts are associated with a domain of expertise. The described system. A method for referring a discussion thread to a specific user, the method comprising:
Detecting an action generated by a user against a first graphical user interface, wherein the first graphical user interface includes a discussion thread of a discussion forum;
Generating an email interface in response to an action generated by the user;
Receiving an email address as user input in the email interface;
Sending a reference to the first graphical user interface to the email address;
Wherein the steps of detecting, generating, receiving, and sending are performed in an integrated application that is executed on a computing device.   The method of claim 10, wherein the discussion forum is hosted on a website.   The method of claim 11, wherein the first graphical user interface includes a first web page included in the website.   The method of claim 10, wherein the integrated application comprises a social network application. The method
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: automatically sending a reference to a plurality of predetermined users of the social network application. The predetermined user is a user of the social network application, and includes a keyword in a title corresponding to the discussion thread and a plurality of keywords included in a forum message corresponding to the discussion thread. The method of claim 14, comprising the user associated with at least one.

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